EVENT REP RT:
Havoc at Harrisburg University –
The 2nd Annual Downtown Dogfight
● by Dave Graham
Robotic enthusiasts with brainy and brawny bots converged on
Harrisburg University in March to
compete in multiple events at the
2nd Annual Downtown Dogfight
(Figure 1). Hosted by Harrisburg
University, the annual event is the
collaborative effort of PennBots, the
Robot Club of Pennsylvania, and
Harrisburg University.
This year’s venue included an
Insect class fighting robot
competition consisting of 150 gram
Fleas (a.k.a., Fairies), one pound
Ants, and three pound Beetles, as
well as line following and maze
solving challenges for thinking
robots. The schedule alternated
between fighting and thinking
events, affording the fighters a
chance to repair damage and the
thinkers time to tweak their code for
best bot performance.
I have to give a shout-out right
up front to Harrisburg University
and their state-of-the-art facilities.
The space was huge, the pits were
carpeted, and there were plenty of
hexagon workstations sporting pop-up power receptacles. The place
was full of creature comforts and is
easily the nicest facility I’ve ever
seen for a robot competition. What
really puts the Harrisburg University
facility over the top is the option for
spectators to view the event from a
second floor balcony, affording them a
unique view from above the arena and
of fighting robot matches (Figure 2).
The fighting competition started
a little slowly when only three Fleas
came forward to tow the line. The
Fleas were all wedge bots, and the
match record was tied at 1-1 for all
three bots after the first round of
the round-robin format. Heath Hill
FIGURE 1. Group shot of competitors.
FIGURE 2.
View of the
arena from
balcony.
FIGURE 3. Fleaweight
bot Baby V.
FIGURE 4.
Fleaweight
bot Platypus.
SERVO 06.2012 37
